for Me sport has always been a huge part of my life since I was very little. I played hockey and netball. 

Around two years ago I noticed I was beginning to get back pain which everyone put down to growing pains. I went to a chiropractor and supposedly the back pain was treated by stretched and a few sessions. 

Starting at my new school continuing to play hockey the back pain continued but got a lot more intense and I got a shooting pain down the back of both legs to the knee. 

I was off sport for at least 6 months doing physio. Nothing helped and I was only taking ibuprofen for the pain. I couldn’t describe the pain to anyone. It was awful and no one took me seriously. No one knew how bad my pain was. 

I was finally referred to a spinal specialist in May 2018. The specialist looked at me and just thought I was growing because I’d grown a lot and am pretty tall. He thought at worse I had fractured a part of my spinal bone so I was put in an MRI. 

4 days later my results came back. I was diagnosed with a Prolapsed Disc in L5S1, in other words a slipped disc in toward my spinal cord. This is a rare diagnosis considering my age and shocked everyone around me. 

My specialist and parents both wanted to avoid surgery. I was told I needed another 6 months of doing nothing. I couldn’t carry my own bags, files, couldn’t bend at weird angles, I had to sit with a back support. I was taking the highest dosage of codeine 2 times 4 times a day. As well as Naproxen twice a day. nothing helped the pain. 

At this point I really had lost myself as a person and this was probably the worst time in my life so far. 

2 months post my diagnosis my left leg had become increasingly weak. On the 3rd of June I lost all feeling in my leg and when the feeling came back I could barely feel it. I had pins and needles everywhere. I didn’t lnow I needed the loo, everything was numb. I was taken to a and e the next day. After being examined and Re-MRI-Ed I was told I needed emergency spinal surgery. The disc was so far in my spinal cord that it was blocking nerve endings and surgery was the only hope of getting the feeling back. 

Waking up from surgery was probably the worst pain I’ve ever experience. I screamed and cried as I waited for painkillers to kick in. I was swollen I couldn’t walk properly. I was in so much pain. My body was so physically tested and I found everything a challenge for some time.

6months post my surgery I’m still in pain. Still taking codeine. And still not doing sport.

To feel like you have zero control over your body is crazy. It drives you crazy and it makes you loose all hope you’ll ever not be in pain. 

I am lucky enough to have the most amazing surgeon who’s going give me injections into my joints to hopefully relieve some of the mechanical back pain I’m still experienceing. I still have a weaker leg and I’m still in physio to help regain as much strength that I can. 

INSPIRE is a charity that research practical solutions for those who suffer from SCI. Having had one myself I know how hard life is with it. The government doesn’t fund research into spinal cord injury research. inspire do all they can to help those with an injury. 

Any donations would mean the world to me and to those inspire help. 

Fleur xoxo